Jiminy Cricket

As the monsoon season comes, so do its little flying, crawling, and often creepy friends, the seasonal insects. Chief among them being crickets and beetles. An epidemic in Islamabad, where God’s handiwork on these little buggers can truly be admired, they are now becoming a mainstay of our city as well, at least till the rains are here.

However, they bring with them a multitude of problems as well, chief among them being.. ‘how do we get rid of them?’

To ward them off, Dr Haider, professor at Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology Karachi, suggested people use yellow lights, as insects are less likely to be attracted to them. “In the rainy season, try to close all the windows and doors during the evening,” he advised.

Also, you could use insecticides to kill them off, but that carries with”Most of the local and multinational companies selling insecticide in Pakistan are using all those groups, including DDT, which are strictly prohibited in Europe, USA and other developed countries. These countries imposed a ban on these groups some forty to fifty years ago,” Dr Muhammad Naem Khan, professor at the department of zoology, University of Punjab, Lahore, told Daily Times. “Most of these groups are unable to metabolize in the human body and could cause cancer.” it another dillemma.. which pesticide/insecticide to use?

“Most of the local and multinational companies selling insecticide in Pakistan are using all those groups, including DDT, which are strictly prohibited in Europe, USA and other developed countries. These countries imposed a ban on these groups some forty to fifty years ago,” Dr Muhammad Naem Khan, professor at the department of zoology, University of Punjab, Lahore, told Daily Times. “Most of these groups are unable to metabolize in the human body and could cause cancer.”

So there you go, if the insects dont kill you (and seriously! they wont!!), the pesticides will.

On a side note, did anyone notice our crickets are now green in color? Instead of the dusty brown they always are/were?